I have heard alot of grumbling lately concerning what people are doing with their cars, especially in the flame forum , and alot of basic I/E questions. For those of you who want to deck out your cars with neon, wings, and all of that, do it. If you want to concentrate on looks, its your perogative(and your money). That said,i feel the first step in modifying your car is deciding what your goals are, do you want to go fast, look good, or both(and sacrifice some performance).
For those who want to go fast read on
Q.WHAT MAKES A FAST CAR???
A. Power to weight ratio, learn this, as this is by far the most dominating rule to auto racing. Basically, the less weight you have to pull, the faster you accelerate. This can be expressed as how many pounds per horse power you have, or how many hp per pound.In a bone stock Tiburon this would be (2600pds/140hp=)18.57pds per hp. Your goal is to make this number go down. Point in case, buying lightened components and then putting in a huge audio system, thats pretty self defeating. If you are serious about going fast you will need to identify and remove all non essential weight in your car when you plan on racing, ie floormats, rear seats, bookbags, all the crap in the trunk, fat girls, etc. I cut my teeth building late model camaro drag cars, and for my purposes i would actually remove just about everything save the drivers seat, keep in mind said car wasnt much fun to go on dates with but it performed at the track. Im not saying to remove everything in your car but be aware of the extra weight you may be hauling.
Q. What makes Horsepower?
A.Well, simply stated, air and fuel. I dont care if you have a 4 cylinder or a v-12, the only thing that is going to make you go faster is getting more air and fuel in your combustion chamber.
This brings us to the question of how do i get more air and fuel in?
Well, a cai and headers are probally the most common answer, but, i recomment going to a true performance shop(hint:they wont be selling any neons or altezza lights, and will have a lot of internal engine parts lying around), and consult with them. If you really want to build Hp you are going to have to modify more than your intake and exhaust. I recomment being methodical, make a plan and a parts list, do research and make sure you understand the basics of a engine and any related equipment(turbo,s/c). I would say the first thing you should look at is reliablity. If you are going to make some power, beef up your engine. Arp bolt studs are a fantastic investment, They have saved me thousands of dollars and are quite inexpensive, especially in the long run. Shot peening, cylinder honing, boring over, pre lube pump, If you are not familiar with these terms i suggest you do some research. After researching decide which route you want to go; Turbocharging;Supercharging;Naturally aspired. This is where the "plan" comes in to place, if you are Turbocharging your car, dont waste money on a intake or headers in the meantime, save your ducats for parts you will really need and dyno time. If you make a plan for your hp gains, and map out the actual parts and machining you need, you will be far more successful in your quest for low 12s. I would say start working in the low band, as Tiburons dont exactly jump off the line
Be prepared to spend some money if you are serious, maybe not all at once but to really make your car a contender you are looking at $4000+. You will also need to look at other aspects of the car, such as, How am i going to get all this horsepower to the ground? Big hint, the answer is not stock suspension and 15" michelen XGTs. Heres the "planning" thing again, if you really want to make a go fast car, you need to do some planning and start making decisions on how you are going to get there, and what obstacles need to be overcome.
Part II Racing
There are so many aspects of actually racing a car that i am barely going to scratch the surface, but to get you started
1. Be very aware of your surroundings, i would be a hypocrite if i told you not to street race but, try to do it in the most isolated nonpopulated place you can find. It only take one bad decision to ruin your life
2. Be aware of your car, pay attention to the nuances of how your car drive(ie, takes off the line, braking distances).
3. Pay attention to the other driver, and be sneaky, i personally like to look at the other driver when lined up as opposed to looking at the tree or stoplight, and when i see him move i move faster.
4. Dont dump the clutch, i have beaten a lot of faster cars simply because they took too much time spinning there tires and not launching properly.
5. Stay relaxed, if you cant your going to fvck up and miss a gear, its just a race.
6. Even if you lose a few times, or a lot, try to figure out what you did wrong and what you did right, where are the weakness's that need worked on and what needs to be maintained.
I hope some of you new guys can learn from this, just remember there is a right and wrong way to do everything, and doing it right the first time=bragging rights
<img src=/images/forums/snitz/smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0>
<hr noshade width=60% size=1 align=left>If i have another civic with a 2' spoiler and fart can come up and rev on me i am gonna laugh so hard that his exhaust will quit rattling.
Racers guide for newbies
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